Waste thread accumulator for weft replenishing looms



26, W46. R..G. TURNER 2,395,436

WASTE THREAD AG CUMULATOR FOR WEFT REPLENISHING LOOMS Original Filed March 11, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 (Aw a. H ah A 880 r veg Feb. 26, 1946. R. G. TURNER 2,395,436

WASTE THREAD ACCUMULATOR FOR WEFT REPLENISHING LOOMS Original Filed March 11, 1944 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 A If Feb. 26, 1946. 2,395,436

WASTE THREAD ACCUMULATOR FOR WEFT REP'LENISHING oon-1s R. G. TURNER Original Filed March 11, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Richard G. W.

I Attorney Patented Feb. 26, 1946 "R'ERIJENISHING LOUMS mmm ndaiifinowles Loom works, Wor ester,

Momma-corporation o Massachusetts This is "a a division 39f :my eopend-ing eat-whoa,- tionseriei No. 526;033,rfl1ed MamchiLikQMznow Patent "No. 2390;014.

This invention relates .to improvements in ;ia pneumatic thread control system :ior .wefit sizeplenishin iiooms andfiitiisl'the genemlqohiecteof the invention to matkeisuoli:systems.morereffteotive to-iacilitate remotalof weftiemisrofathe outgoing and i incoming bobbins.

In weft replenishing I looms it is i necessary to control two threadsiatthetime of; etrepleni hin openation, toneu being connected to the depleted bobbin as :the "latter is-eiected; irom-ztherithuttl and "the xotheribeing iconneiciedxto the incomin bobfloin wvhich is tizansierredimmothe ma az ne intothe shuttle. The thread of $131.16 incom n bobbin generally extends from zthe'rthliead iholder to fthe sewage of; the.:elotnrioriseverai.pickstunti it can be out; by iheztemme'outter,-,a.t?whioh time it is pneumaticaliy dnawnvintoa thread accumulator. :In :order 1:1;Of1h01d "this threadjl i arr-noninterieringposition with; resoeotrt the y a z r partsi thereon .I rovidee'mooer ontheiay moves the ihliflflidtzfilltfla1l100k1m0m d1 n m43 stationary: part ;of stile loom in from. of ,theqlay, where :the -1 thread; is :held '.:unti1 iit out. it" is an important object iotmy-oresentintention-to construct a pneumatic-threadholderwitirathreaid receiving 1 time which ho ds :the 1 thread taut so that -i,t.-c,an.;bezzeneoged hythe placer animated .:bobbin can wh oh i r nxfront f-th vlay. rand-as previoulslyls-tateo it j tdesirableto remove the threadiromimshohbin. Itis efurth r b c of my present invention to; supnortzthe :bobbin can on :the thread 'acoumulator andprovide the letter-with a. door; or t l k which cambe opened for th remova -o IEQXQQSS W ft nds while the :bohbin been o-is.:-in :position on the ccumul to The loom rzettendent men :theremr rrlzem te th accumulated. massiof weft d rin awreplenlahin operation without ldangeri-tofzfibeing StI-EILGkibYilthE outgoing loolohin.

Due -to breakage ot "one or another of tithe cthreesis of lo m :or ior other er asmfi 11.0011 roeees orie l-y temps, an i .bobb n etrt ndent -;sh .i be plating new 1 tith m gazine mixing -metlaer od o idleness tin the doom it:;i5 siesitahle iith 't he pn um ti thread holi eriheopenatedsorthet it tee attract itheew ft ends: thenewMbb t-isian ih nobiect of m poresent i ve tion t prov de yen i w itp :5 vent-tithe loom motor ondefiec ivetocoreat .sueeatmosphe i mressuresduringi emporaty pe- :rioos oiiiefl ness of .the'loom- QStlhyIIlfiiY b -,a-eoornp1ished rhfy grieving ieir ump :oireotly irom the motor :independ ntly o th :ehiprer mechanism which connects the motor toqthe Mom :50 tha continued runnin of -th motor after th 4 am .isq nsh io ed wi tma ntainisubtmeeoheric :EQIESSHF-QS at the thread holder.

ior any ireasonithe throat "of th thread iholoertshouidtheoom ol ggedmithtthreads iti 2o desirable that they the i, remi ted. J11: his Another ohieetotmy intention to hold-,the-a-toresaidtub 1 0 i ixsu nor vnea itheithr et by a fricti n-fit or other readily disconneotaime mean sothatthe twee-,canbe-shiitediowatdsthe ma azine t e g initclearing-ofthethroatmthout.removalof-tm threads tfrom the ;pneuma.tio .attnao.tion "at ..the throat. .This oera-tion roan he performed whil vthe loom is in operationbecause, the tuhetoain .he

removed without interfering thele y.

with these i and oth r plqieots in -.view Which :Wil r appea as t desc iption preteens. inwen-hon resides inv the tombmetion endnairreneeumfint 9f perts .llereinaite -des.cnibed end set tenth.

I the v,atcco 1mf inting drawings, wherein a convenzient embodiment ,ofmy-. llicentioniiseetiorth, v .-Fi,g.. 1; isteside. ,eletation 0317 portion. ofia loom having-my invention anpliedthemto,

Fig. 2 is ta. Ironteleyeiion oiceri i ,na fis howndn ,1, i

Rig. is a ,xzertioal section-ion linefl +3sf 1 ,showiiigethe interior of the thread, :aocnmolato and its v.oonn.actions .ito the ithreaidlho der en ithreadremo er,

,Fig. 4 .is iaxhorizontal section 101: ime 3.444, 1-:

,Figwi e rieartel ration. .in o the ticiirecti o :armw 5,1vFigM1, sh win the drivin .conn ctio fo theainp m ,Eig, 2 6 ise erticameetion th o gh-the hea of the thre d; hol er,

Fi ise di gramma tpl n yiew lookin in :ihet'd eotionoferrow 1,:Fig.-irond i I r gig; 'siiaidiegrammeticifront.eleratienioftthe sin-flew.

the lay into a bobbin can I9.

The loom is provided with a magazine M which is preferably though not necessarily of the rocking type and has front and back bobbin guides spectively, extend to a thread holder H. to be '29 and 2| from which weft ends W and W, re- 7 described. The magazine may be caused to rock about its pivot 22 by means of control mechanism designated generally at 23 so that the lowest bobbin in either of the guides 21] or 2i may be 7 moved to transfer position. A transferrer arm 25 is pivoted at 26 to the stand or support 21 of the magazine and operates in usual manner to move a-bobbin under it in the magazine into the shuttle S when a replenishing operation occurs.

- The matter thus far described operates substantially as shown in my prior Patents Nos.

2,199,354 and 2,222,994. At the time of transfer the depleted bobbin leaves a thread A, see Fig. '7,

which is removed by a pneumatic thread remover R, andthe incoming bobbin leaves a thread B extending from the thread holder H to the selvage of the fabric F, all to be described in detail hereinafter.

The driving mechanism for the 1oom comprises an electric motor 'having a pinion 36 meshing with a driving gear 31 slidable along the top shaft I5 into engagement with a clutch member 38 secured to shaft I5. Any appropriate shipper mechanism indicated at 39, may be employed to move the gear against the clutch member when the loom is to be operated and'separate these two parts when the loom is to be stopped. So 'far as certain features of my invention are concerned I do not wish to'be limited to the specific i1 means set forth'herein for driving the loom. It is sufficient if the motor continues to run after the loom has been temporarily stopped, as by a warp or weft stop motion.

In carrying my present invention into effect I provide the motor shaft with'a pulley 46 which by means of a'belt 4'! drives a pulley 48 securedto shaft 49 of a fan or other form of air pump 58. The latter may be supported in fixed position on a bracket 5I and is so designed as tocreate sub-atmospheric pressures at the intake 52 thereof. The fan or pump operates whenever the motor 35 is running regardless of the relation of the gear 31 and the driving member 38.

Connected pneumatically to and extending forwardly from the fan is a pipe 55 connected by means of a fitting 56 to the rear wall 51 of the thread accumulator designated generally at D. Wall 51 has a hole 58 registered with the fitting so that the interior of the accumulator is pneumatically connected tothe fan through pipe 55. The accumulator is preferably made in the form of a box having a front wall 59 and right and left side walls 60 and 6|, respectively, and a bottom 62. The box is provided with a cover which may be attached as at 66 to the top of the box to form a tight air seal. Secured to the top of the v the weft ends W and W pass.

the thread holdertube I03. I V 'In operationgthe fan 50 acts whenever the V motor 35 is running to create sub-atmospheric with the block 61 for the purpose of positioning the bobbin can on the accumulator D. V p The front wall of the accumulator is provided with an opening I5 which is normally closed by a door or the like I6 hinged as at 1! to the accumulator. The door is held closed tightly by the difference of barometric pressure inside and outside the accumulator. The door may be made of any suitable transparent material which will permit visual observation of the threads withi the accumulator. I

Located Within the accumulator between its front and rear walls is a partition having an opening SI across which extends a screen 82 to prevent threads from passing from the forward compartment 83 to the rear compartment 84 of the accumulator. This partition sets between beads 85 formed on the bottom and side walls of the accumulator. Other beads 86 depending from the cover 65 receive the top of, the partition. By reason of the beads the partition serves as a substantially tight air seal between the front and back compartments except for the air passage 8|. Rods 88 extend forwardly from partition 80 toward the door 76 andserve to hold the mass of yarn Y in compartment 83.

The bottom 52 of the accumulator is provided with an opening connecting compartment 83 with the interior of a fitting SI secured to bottom 62. fitting 9| to the thread remover R shown in Fig. '7. The right or outer wall-BI. is perforated as at. 95 to connect compartment 83 with the interior'of a fitting 96 secured to said wall. Fitting fis has a foot 91, see Fig. 1, c0nnected as at'98 for angular adjustment on wall BI. Secured in the fitting 96 is an upwardly extending pipe I08, the upper end of which as shown in Fig. 6 has'secured thereto a head or'elbow IflI by means of a set screw I02. A tubeI03 fits into the head IIlI and is preferably though not necessarily held frictionally in the head with sufl'icient tightness to remain in position during loom operation but loose enough to permit removal or inspection of .the threads in the head II. The latter has a cham-'- ber I04 which in effect is a throat through which Theishuttle box I6 is provided with a forwardly extending thread placer I I 0 having an upper for Wardlyextending finger I I I 'below which extends a forwardly and downwardly inclined thread engaging edge I I2 which forms a; thread notch 3* A rearwardly extending 'stationary hook H5 is secured in any convenient with the finger.

manner to the loom frame and is located preferably between the placer and fabric F when the lay is on front center. 'The hook h'as an upwardly" extending hook head H6 and has a forwardly and upwardly inclined rearsurface oredge H1. The hook has a thread notch H8 iii-front of the head H8 and above the path traversed bylthe placer'l ID. The reason for this relationship is to prevent the thread placerfrom striking any thread which may extend-from the v hook I I5 to pressures within the accumulator D and therefore cause columns of air to move into the thread cover is a block 61, preferably formed of WOOd,

on'which the bottom 68 of the bobbin-can I9 rests. The walls of the bobbin can extend downwardly as at'IO below the bottom 68 to cooperate remover R and the thread holder tube I03. The

I03 and then extend diagonallyfacross the tube and into the throat I04, from whence they extend down pipe I00. When a replenishing operation A hose or other flexible pipe 92 connects nee -43o occurs the lowestbobbin mono or the other of the stacks 2B or it will-be moved intoathe shuttle S by the transferrer arm '25 and the associated threa-dwill move to position 13 below the group of threads -W and W. "When the shuttle-is picked to the opposite side of the loom thepneumatic attract-ion induced by the draft of air moving into the tube "let holds thethread. During backward movement of the lay the thread placer moves behind-thread 8 and as the lay returns forwardly edge Hi2 'rnoves thethread up into notch ll-3. The continuous draft of air moving into the tube H33 holds thread B taut and as the lay beats up to front center position with the thread-under finger iii in notch N3 the placer iiii moves the thread up the inclined rear edge M? of th e hook.

Boring this operation the part of the thread touching the hook is deflected upwardly over the hook to'a position in front of the hook head i l d. Ehe notch H8 in the hook is "slightlyabovea line drawn from thefell' of the cloth to-thetube see Fig. 8, and it is for this reason that the thread B will be held in the notch. The notch is also in front of a straight line from the fell to the tube r83 as indicated in Fig. 7. The-thread B remains inthis position until it is out several picks later by the temple cutter T, at which time the thread is drawn into the tube use by pneumatic attraction.

It is an important feature of my inventionto face or point the tube 163 in a direction generally toward the hook ll'fi'sothat the thread 13 will enter the tube at a point slightly above the bottom thereof and out of contact with any part of the intake mouth. By this arrangement the inrushing column of air is able to surround the thread and draw it quickly into the tube Hi3 from whence it passes downwardly through the pipe till! into the thread accumulator D.

The thread of the outgoing bobbin is handled much in the same manner as that set forth in the aforesaid Patent No. 2,199,354, the thread A when out at the temple passing into the thread remover R and along the tube 92 into the compartment 83 of the accumulator.

As will be obvious in Fig. 3 the threads from the thread holder and the thread remover enter compartment 63 at points spaced from the screen 82 and I find in practice that these threads accumulate in a mass which tends to fall to the bottom of the compartment 83 away from the air duct Si in the partition 80. The screen 82 therefore does not become clogged andthe apparatus can operate for a considerable length of time without requiring cleaning of the accumulator. When it is necessary to remove the threads from the compartment 83 the door 16 is lifted and the mass of threads taken out, after which the door will be drawn to closed position by the sub-atmospheric pressures existing within the accumulator D.

As previously mentioned the bobbin attendant may be required to place bobbins in the magazine during a period of temporary idleness of the loom. When placing bobbins in the magazine a suflicient length of weft end is drawn'from each bobbin and presented to the intake mouth of the tube If the sub-atmospheric pressures within the system should cease when the loom stops it would be diificult to get the weft ends of the new bobbins in the tube me, but by having the fan Ell driven by the motor 35 assurance is given that the weft ends of the new bobbins will be attracted and drawn into the tube I03 even though the loom is temporarily at rest.

Aftercontinued :useaegroup LOf .zthreads may accumulate'inzthe head till due to thei'iact'tithat ithe threads of the transferred bobbins may thecom entangledewith the weft ends Wand :It is forthe correction or" thiswcondition .thatl :preferablymake the tube 403 of suchrsize that'it can dil -l. This tube canrbe removed to the dottedline position of Fig. 6 while the weft ends W andiW are extending into the head-and the-operation for clearing the-latter can therefore be efiected without stopping the" loom or taking theweft ends of thereserve bobbin-s out of the head. Asisoon as the tube l 523 is reinserted into the head normal conditions will be immediately established. 10loviousl" these-operations can be performmi 'while the loom is stopped, since the fan will still be running.

From the foregoing it will be seen that l have provided a pneumatic thread control-system for a loom wherein sub-atmospheric pressures are maintained within the system whenever the motor 35 is running whether or not the loom is'in operation. It will alsobe seen thatthe tube lll3 is pointed generally in the direction of hook llt so that the thread in position B, held taut by pneumatic tension, can move in a straight line into the intake mouth of the tube IE3 without-engaging any part of-the mouth of the tube into which theweit ends extend. Itwillalsobe noted that the thread accumulator serves as a support for the bobbin can and that the latter remains in position when the door 16 is open to remove threads which have accumulated in compartment 83. The can [9 thus protects the operator in the event of a transfer while the mass of weft is being removed from the accumulator. Furthermore, the tube I03 can be slipped out of the head [ill to permit correction of unfavorable thread conditions within the head Without removing the weft ends W or W. Also, the thread placer moves in a path below the thread extending from hook I l5 to the thread holder H.

Having thus described my invention it will be seen that changes and modifications may be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and I do not Wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, but what I claim is:

1. In a weft replenishing loom from which depleted bobbins are rejected, the loom having a pneumatic remover for the threads of the ejected bobbins, a thread accumulator pneumatically connected to the remover and receiving the weft ends of the ejected bobbins from said remover, a bobbin can supported by the accumulator in position to receive the ejected bobbins, and normally closed means on the accumulator openable for removal of the weft ends in the accumulator while the bobbin can is supported by the accumulator.

2. In a weft replenishing loom from the lay of which depletedbobbins are ejected, the loom having a pneumatic remover for the threads of the ejected bobbins, a thread accumulator pneumatically connected to the remover and receiving said threads therefrom, a bobbin can supported on the accumulator between the latter and the lay in position to receive the ejected bobins and prevent the latter from striking any part of the accumulator, and normally closed means on the accumulator openable for removal of threads therein While the bobbin can remains on the accumulator in position to receive an ejected bobbin,

3. In a weft replenishing loom from the lay of which depleted bobbins are ejected, a thread accumulator receiving threads discarded incident to replenishing operations of the loom, a bobbin can mounted on the accumulator between the latter and the lay and in position to receive the ejected bobbins, and means afiording access to the interior of the accumulator for removal of threads therein while the bobbin can is on the accumulator in position to receive an ejected bobbin and prevent the latter from interfering with said removal of threads.

4. In a weft replenishing loom from the lay of which depleted bobbins are ejected, a hollow thread accumulator receiving threads discarded incident to replenishing operations of the loom, said accumulator having a top and a wall, a bobbin can between the accumulator and lay and supported on said top in position to receive bobbins ejected from the lay, and a door on said wall normally closed but openable to afford. access to the interior of said accumulator for removal of threads therein while the bobbin can is on said accumulator in position to receive an ejected bobbin.

5. In a weft replenishing loom from the lay of which depleted bobbins are ejected downwardly, a bobbin can below the lay to receive the ejected bobbins, a thread accumulator for weft ends discarded incident to replenishing operations of the loom and located below and supporting the bobbin can, and a closure for the accumulator openable for removal of threads in the latter, said can arresting an ejected bobbin and preventing the latter from reaching the closure.

6. In a Weft replenishing loom from which depleted bobbins are ejected into a bobbin can, .an

accumulator for threads removed fromthe loom incident to replenishing operations located under and supporting the bobbin can in position toreceive said ejected bobbins, and a closure for the accumulator openable for removal of threads in the accumulator while the bobbin can is supported on the accumulator in position to receive an ejected bobbin.

'1. In a thread accumulator for a weft replenishing loom having a bobbin can to receiveel'ected bobbins, said accumulator formed with a substantially flat top to support the bobbin can and having walls below said top, one of said walls having an opening therein for removal of threads in the accumulator, and a door hinged to the accumulator and movable to a position to close said opening.

8. In a thread accumulator for a weft replenishing loom having a bobbin can to receive ejected bobbins, said accumulator formed with a substan-.

tially flat top to support the bobbin can and having Walls below said top, one of said walls having an opening therein for removal of threads in the accumulator, and a door hinged to said one wall above said opening and falling by gravity to a position to close said opening.

RICHARD G. TURNER. 

